Letter: Gay bashing must stop in and out of school

There are a lot of different groups of people who get bullied, made fun of, and treated poorly at Kaneland High School. When I walk down the halls of my school, I hear horrible words hurled at others. But some of the worst I hear are, â€œYou’re so gayâ€ or â€œYou’re such a fag.â€

Students, both here and nationwide, who express a preference for those of their own sex are put down and made fun of daily. Some awful words are spat out toward them, but this is not how you treat a human being. I believe that a person should be treated equally no matter what their sexual preference is.

Even when the phrases are not directed toward a gay studentâ€”as they often are notâ€”the words are still offensive to others. Numerous suicide cases in the past two months have been the result of people bullying and harassing gays, and most of these people are young and in high school. No child should die young just because of harassment.

I believe intolerance and harassment is a growing problem in our society. Gay and lesbian students should be treated just like everyone else. It’s just like the golden rule you learn in kindergarten: Treat people the way you would like to be treated.

I feel strongly about this problem and have been horrified as I keep hearing the comments at school, and even down the street in town, directed towards gay people. I hope I can spread awareness and try and stop these rude comments.